Your choice of case is excellent for your build. Here's some info from Corsair that verifies this:
- Compact design, full size capabilities: Don't let the compact dimensions of the 400C fool you -- it can house a full ATX motherboard and multiple GPUs.
- Liquid cooling capable: With room for front, top, and rear radiators, you can choose to quiet down your GPU and CPU with liquid coolers just about wherever you want to.
I would stay with the 6700K. When you overclock that CPU, which is a good idea for your needs, it performs identically to the 7700K. It also doesn't require faking the CPU ID. One less thing to have to tweak. The Asus Hero motherboard is incredibly easy to overclock, something you've probably got no previous experience with. It will be just as compatible with macOS as any of the Gigabyte offerings. Plus you've got Stork's expertly written, detailed Hero guide to follow. What's not to like there ?
I would recommend that you start with one 1080 GPU. Most programs you'll be using really don't take advantage of dual graphics cards very well if at all. You can always add one later on if need be. It's so many more times powerful than the graphics in your MBP that I'm certain you'll be happy with the performance of this one. The Nvidia recommended wattage needed for one is just 500W. A 650W PSU is more than enough power. If you will definitely use two then you could start with the 750W version to be ready for a 2nd 1080. My choice would be to go with a single 1080 Ti if you feel the single 1080 isn't enough horsepower.
If you intend to keep this build for 4 years or more it is best to go with 64 GB of ram. Ram requirements will only go up in years to come. This way you won't have to try and find matching ram modules 3 years later when you need to upgrade. You can check ram usage in Activity monitor or other apps and see how much you are using. Since you are still under budget it only makes sense to do this now. You can buy your ram kit from Newegg and get a better price if they don't charge sales tax where you are.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232260&cm_re=F4-3400C16Q-64GTZ-_-20-232-260-_-Product
It's best to put your primary OS, which i believe will be macOS Sierra, on your NVME drive. Put Windows on your secondary drive to avoid problems when dual booting. As mentioned previously you could use a 250GB Samsung 850 Pro to help keep costs down. If you will rarely use Windows you could even go cheaper than that. The Samsung EVO version costs less.
AIO Liquid coolers are designed to keep your CPU within thermal parameters better than air coolers under high CPU stress situations. Most video and photo editing programs, when used professionally, can easily "max" out the CPU for hours at a time. A good liquid cooler is essential when you overclock an I7-6700K and run your rig all day long for your work. You can come close in cooling performance with some Noctua air coolers but the heatsinks in those are quite massive and will take up much of the space in your Corsair case.
It looks like you can keep this build under $2500 and have a really capable system for your work. Once you've got it built, install Windows first and test out all your hardware to make sure there is nothing that needs RMA. macOS on PC hardware can have software configuration issues that might be hard to distinguish from hardware problems. This is why it's best to run your stress tests and initial "burn in" with Windows.
So, I think that covers nearly all of your questions. Take your time with your build. Get some help from an experienced PC builder if you have one nearby. Once you've completed this project you will be very happy with how your new build performs with Adobe CC suite. You are 100% right in that the $3000 2013 MP would not give you nearly the performance, amount or ram and storage per dollar that this will. The recent Nvidia Pascal support makes this an excellent Professional use build. Cuda cores are what you need most, not AMD and OpenCL support.
You're all awesome, thanks so much for the help on this! I've altered my list up a bit since before - and I still have a few questions on some of the components:
Parts List:
1.
CASE: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX Computer Case - Tempered Glass Edition, Galaxy Silver PH-ES515ETG_GS ---
$189.99
(
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F0KVP2Q/?tag=tonymacx86com-20)
2.
WIFI CARD: 802.11AC Desktop Wifi Card 802.11 A/B/G/N/AC Bluetooth 4.0 OS X Yosemite 10.10+ PC/Hackintosh - Handoff and Continuity ---
$59.99
(
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDLG51U/?tag=tonymacx86com-20)
3.
CPU: Intel Core i7 6700K 4.00 GHz Unlocked Quad Core Skylake Desktop Processor, Socket LGA 1151 [BX80662I76700K] ---
$301.78
(
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012M8LXQW/?tag=tonymacx86com-20)
4.
MOBO: ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII HERO LGA 1151 DDR4 M.2 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 Type A Type C Intel Z170 ATX Motherboard ---
$206.53
(
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0126R4F8W/?tag=tonymacx86com-20)
5.
GPU: MSI GTX 1080 TI GAMING X Computer Graphics Cards ---
$749.99
(
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XVG7M23/?tag=tonymacx86com-20)
6.
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G3, 80 Plus Gold 850W, Fully Modular, Eco Mode, with New HDB Fan, 10 Year Warranty, Includes Power ON Self Tester, Compact 150mm Size, Power Supply 220-G3-0850-X1 ---
$119.99
(
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LY4OJYJ/?tag=tonymacx86com-20)
7.
M.2 SSD: Samsung SM951 256 GB Internal Solid State Drive MZHPV256HDGL - 00000 ---
$119.99
(
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VELD92U/?tag=tonymacx86com-20)
8.
SSD A: Samsung 750 EVO - 120GB - 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-750120BW) ---
$74.99
(
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AAKZRPW/?tag=tonymacx86com-20)
9.
SSD B: Samsung 850 EVO 1TB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E1T0B/AM) ---
$334.33
(
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OBRFFAS/?tag=tonymacx86com-20)
10.
RAM: G.SKILL 64GB (4 x 16GB) TridentZ Series DDR4 PC4-27200 3400MHZ For Intel Z170 Platform 288-Pin Desktop Memory Model F4-3400C16Q-64GTZ ---
$754.50
(
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CJB3ZUE/?tag=tonymacx86com-20)
11.
LIQUID COOLER: Corsair Hydro Series H100i v2 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler, Black ---
$119.99
(
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019EXSSBG/?tag=tonymacx86com-20)
12.
CASE LIGHTS: Phanteks PH-LEDKT_COMBO: RGB LED Strip Combo Set - Retail Cases ---
$14.99 (x2)
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So, now for some questions if you would oblige!:
Case:
1. I swapped out because I really like this case aesthetically, and it's a bit larger than the Corsair from before. Would you recommend this case? Or Should I swap back to the Corsair?
Firewire Card:
1. Removed!
Wifi Card:
1. Same!
CPU:
1. Same!
MOBO:
1. Same!
GPU:
1. I've heard that the TI is the way to go - can anyone provide insight on this? It's a few hundred dollars more then the previous 1080 that I had chosen, should I bother making this switch?
2. I also notice that this card has multiple HDMI inputs as well as a Display port, is that a major advantage? Can I get the same effect out of a different cheaper card using adapters?
3. Is
this card really all that faster (or better) then
this card?
4. Gigabyte vs. MSI vs. Other brands - any insight here? Is there one 1080 better then the next? If so, which should I get?
PSU:
1. Swapped to 850 for ease of mind, good idea?
2. Is
this a decent option for an 850?
M.2 SSD:
1. Swapped to ACHI SSD vs. NVMe per Storks suggestion. Is this the one to get? Used only for booting OS Sierra.
SSD A:
1. The idea here is to use this drive as the windows boot drive - good idea?
2. Is this a good one to get? 120GB should be enough for just a boot drive right?
SSD B:
1. The idea here is to use this drive as working drive for in progress projects - good idea?
2. Is this a good one to get? All projects will be archived after the work has been finished, so 1TB should be enough for my needs.
RAM:
1. Looking for some other 64GB options here - I dug around ASUS's website and found the compatibility chart for the motherboard, but I'm a bit confused with speeds. What makes one RAM set better than another? I've found compatible kits from Corsair that are $200 cheaper, but there must be a decrease in performance with that, right? The compatibility chart can be found
here, and the RAM in question can be found
here. If they perform the same, or similarly, why not just save the cash and go for the Corsair?
Liquid Cooler:
1. Is the liquid cooler I picked out a good one to use?
2. If not, what is a better option?
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Thanks again, I'll say it a million more times but you all are awesome. You should be able to write off this charity work on your taxes next year.
You've got the trs96 seal of approval. Congrats ! Hope your new build goes well.